The amount of a payload that may be hauled in an off-highway truck is often limited by the requirement that the combined weight of the payload and truck not exceed an established maximum gross vehicular weight (GVW). The maximum GVW is a limit established based on such things as torque available from a power-train and weight amounts that can be carried by tires. Because off-highway trucks are manufactured from metals in order to be durable and robust, the trucks also are heavy. Any reduction in the truck's weight allows an operator to increase the payload weight by the same amount without exceeding the GVW. To the operator, any increase in payload translates to an increase in productivity, resulting in higher profits.
In order to maximize the productivity of off-highway trucks, it is desirable to minimize a truck's weight, thereby maximizing the weight of a payload that may be safely carried or transported by the truck. One method for reducing the weight of an off-highway truck is to reduce the thickness of metal components to the minimum amount that will adequately perform the required functionality of the truck. For example, a payload container on an off-highway truck may be manufactured using metal plates with the minimum thickness required to support the weight of a payload. However, even as the thickness of the plates is reduced, the payload containers nonetheless continue to weigh a substantial amount due to the weight of the metal.
Repairs to a damaged payload container can compound the problem of weight. This is because repairs typically require welding or adding additional material to the damaged portion. Accordingly, the overall weight of a payload container may be increased when damage is repaired.
One method for reducing the weight of a freight container is disclosed in International Publication No. WO 96/29233. The '233 publication discloses a freight hauling container including a wall construction formed of a plastic composite. The wall construction includes a sheet-like panel reinforced with stiffeners bonded to the panel. However, the wall construction for the freight container in the '233 publication is not designed to hold the weight of a payload that may be inadvertently dumped on it because it is only used for the walls forming an enclosed freight container. Accordingly, the '233 publication does not disclose a system that could effectively reduce the weight of a non-enclosed payload container.
What is needed is a payload container formed of a light material that reduces the weight of a payload container in areas where a load may be in direct contact with the material, and that may be repaired without increasing the overall weight of the payload container. The present disclosure teaches a system for overcoming one or more of the deficiencies in the prior art.